Trace-carrier



(N0-M0d e1.)

W. D. MITCHELL.

TRACE CARRIER.

No. 436.253. Patented Spt. 9, 1890.

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE;

WILLIAM DAVID MITCHELL, OF MOQOMB CITY, MISSISSIPPI.

TRACE-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 436,253, dated September 9, 1890.

Application filed June 9, 1890. Serial No. 354,729. (No model.)

To 12% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM DAVID MITCH- ELL, of McOomb City, in the county of Pike and State of Mississippi, have in vented a new and useful Improvement in Buckles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in buckles, especially that class of buckles known as back-band buckles, and has for its object to provide a simple and durable device capable of quick adjustment to the requirements of large or small animals, and in which the clampingmember will be free from sharp or abrading surfaces, thereby preserving the band from mutilation.

Another object of theinvention is to so construct the buckle that it will not chafe the animal, and whereby it may be most conveniently and expeditiously locked or unlocked.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures and letters of referenoe indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan View of the buckle, illustrated as applied to the back-band. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the buckle, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line so a: of Fig. 1.

The body or base A of the buckle isprovided at each end, preferably nearer the back than the front, with an car 10, and a slot or opening 11, extending nearly from end to end, the said slot being also located nearer the back than the front of the buckle. The upper surface of the front portion of the buckle, or that portion between the slot 11 and the front edge, is provided with two or more, preferably two, longitudinal ribs 12, the said ribs being parallel with the slot or opening 11. The ribs 12 occupy such relation to each other that a space intervenes between them, as is best shown in Fig. 3.

The central portion of the back of the buckle is preferably outwardly curved, and is provided upon its upper face with an offset 13, which offsethas formed therein a'central bore,

continued ordinarily downward to the bottom of the base or body A. The said bore is adapted for the reception of the pin 14, and upon the said pin one end of a locking-button 16 is pivoted. The said button is preferably provided upon its upper edge with a vertical wing 17 to facilitate its manipulation, and the under surface of the button is preferably somewhat circular or rounded off.

The clamping-section or the hinge member 13 of the buckle is pivoted at its ends to the ears 10 of the base or body, and upon the under surface of the hinge or clamping member or section a longitudinal rib 18 is formed, so located as to be capable of entering the space between the ribs 12 of the base or bodymember when the two members are brought into horizontal contact, and the rib 18 is preferably serrated or roughened, ordinarily longitudinally. The central portion of the hinge or clamping member B at the forward edge is formed into an upwardly-turned hook 19, in connection with which hook a spring 20 is employed, forming thereby the usual form of spring-clip.

Upon the upper face of the hingemember B, a longitudinal ridge or projection 21 is formed, having produced in its upper surface a series of cavities or depressions 22. The base or body member of the buckle is securely fastened to a pad 23 of'leather or equivalent material.

In operation the strap 0 is passedfrom the back upward through the slot 11 of the base or body member and over the ribs of said member, and is locked in position by carrying the hinge member downward to a contact with the strap, whereby therib 18 of the hinge member forces the portion of the strap which engages with it downward into the space between the ribs of the body member, and the said upper hinged member is 'held in close locking-contact with the strap by causing the button 16 to enter a convenient cavity 22-0f the ridge 21. The button 16 sustains such relation to the hinged member of the buckle that when the said hinged member is closed down against the base member and the strap is not interposed, the said button maybe carried over the ridge 21. When, however, the strap is interposed between the two members,

the button 16 must be sprung slightly upon the ridge, and to that end the upper surface of the ridge is inclined from one end in the direction of the other.

It is obvious that a buckle constructed as above described is not only durable and simple, but may be expeditiously manipulated to look a strap in a given position or to permit the strap to be drawn between the members of the buckle.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patber hinged to the base member and having a rib formed upon one face and a rack-surface upon its opposite face, and a button connected with the base member and adapted for en-.

gagement with the said rack-surface, as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a buckle, the combination, with a base member provided with alongitudinal slot and parallel spaced ribs upon its upper face, of a hinge member having a rib upon its under face adapted to enter the spaces between the ribs of the base, a rack produced upon the upper face of the hinge memberhaving an inclined surface, anda button hingedto the base member andadapted for engagement with'the rack, as and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM DAVID MITCHELL.

Witnesses:

ED. 0. FOWLESH, R. W. RASBACH. 

